The Grammys have announced new categories for 2027 and changed the rules when it comes to Best New Artist, Best Album and more.
It has become commonplace for the awards to add to or adjust their categories each year in response to proposals from members, and for the 2027 instalment there have been five new categories introduced.
These are Best Asian Pop Music Performance, Best R&B Collaboration or Duo/Group Performance, Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance, Best Traditional Folk Album, and Best Latin Song.
The Best Asian Pop Music Performance will recognise “artistic excellence” in Asian pop music originating from Asian markets, and entries must have meaningful use of one or more Asian language.
Best Latin song recognises newly written Latin songs where at least 51 per cent of the lyrics are in a Spanish language, and the Best R&B Collaboration or Duo/Group Performance recognises collaborative works between solo artists, duos and groups.
The GRAMMYs have unveiled five new categories ahead of next year’s ceremony:
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance
Best Latin Song
Best Asian Pop Music Performance
Best R&B Collaboration or Duo/Group Performance
Best Traditional Folk Album pic.twitter.com/Vz6Q704D8x— Pop Base (@PopBase) June 16, 2026
The latter has led to the Best R&B Performance Category being revised and renamed Best R&B Solo Performance, and the new Folk category has led to the previous Best Folk Album Category has been revised and renamed Best Contemporary Folk Album.
Grammys CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said in a statement that the changes will help 2027 “be an amazing year for the Grammy Awards, and one that reflects the extraordinary growth we’re seeing across music.”
“The changes advanced by our Recording Academy members speak to the breadth of today’s music industry and the many genres, crafts, and creators shaping it,” he added. “We’re excited to see these updates come to life in the year ahead as we celebrate the music people who are driving music forward.”
As well as new categories, there are also several rule changes being introduced for next year. These primarily affect Best New Artist and Best Album.
New rule changes include the maximum number of times an artist may be submitted increased from three to four, and the threshold of new recordings required on an eligible album “lowered from 75 per cent to 66 per cent”. The latter is done in an attempt to “reduce the exclusion of entries that are widely recognised throughout the music industry as new albums”, according to the rulebook.
The GRAMMYs will now allow artists to be submitted for the Best New Artist category up to four times.
Previously, an artist could only be considered for the category three times. pic.twitter.com/D9RI2mM2Q4
— Pop Base (@PopBase) June 16, 2026
Other amendments to the rules include internet-only releases now being eligible in Best Album Notes and Best Historical Album – provided the additional materials and album notes are part of the commercial download – and songwriters and composers behind winning albums also receiving statues and achievement certificates.
The 69th Grammy Awards ceremony will be held on February 7, and broadcast live on ABC, Disney+, and Hulu. The full description of the new categories and revised rules can be found on in the updated rulebook.
Big winners at the 2026 Grammys included Kendrick Lamar, Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish and Olivia Dean. See the full list of winners here.
While accepting their awards, both Bad Bunny and Eilish called out ICE, and Olivia Dean seemed to make a jab at US President Donald Trump. Live performances came from Spiritbox, Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Tyler, The Creator, and Lola Young.
